The VJM11 is Sahara Force India's 11th Formula One car, and one that comes on the back of two seasons in which the team finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship. The car was unveiled the morning before the start of winter testing in the paddock at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Having had to incorporate the mandatory halo cockpit protection, Force India had to build a new chassis, something the team usually opts not to every other year to save costs. The team's Technical Director, Andy Greene, admitted at pre-season testing that the team was still working hard at its aerodynamic package: "There's a significant downstream effect [from halo], especially around the rear wing area. It's not designed to be an aerodynamic device. It doesn't do us any favours in that department.

"It requires a lot of work to mitigate the issues that it causes, and we're still actively working on that, and I don't think we'll have a solution until Melbourne."

The monocoque changes reportedly cost the team an unplanned €1 million. Similarly, the VJM11 features traditional sidepod inlets, contrary to Williams, Haas and Red Bull following Ferrari's 2017 route with the inlet positioned above a lower mounted side impact structure. This too was attributed to limited budget, with Green claiming that the solution does not offer the conclusive benefits for the team to go down this route, as it would require "a very big structural change to the car".

The team's limited resources had thus limited performance development, resulting in a car that very much resembled its predecessor during pre-season winter testing. In that, it became obvious the team had slipped down the pecking order, with drivers quick to express their disappointment. Updates in the first races also did little to recover their stake in front of the midfield.